REVIEW article
Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Pain Mechanisms and Modulators
Volume 18 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1625943
Exosome-mediated miRNA Delivery: A Molecular Switch for Reshaping Neuropathic Pain Therapy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
- 2Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- 3Ruikang Hospital affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a chronic condition caused by nerve injury or disease. It remains a therapeutic challenge because conventional drugs have limited efficacy and cause adverse effects. Exosomes, with the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, low immunogenicity, and tissue-homing capacity, have emerged as promising nanovehicles for precise microRNA (miRNA) delivery to modulate key NP pathologies such as neuroinflammation, neuronal hyperexcitability, mechanical allodynia, and thermal hyperalgesia.In this review, we highlight recent advances in exosome-mediated miRNA therapy for NP. We also elucidate the molecular mechanisms and unique advantages of exosomes as both delivery platforms and intrinsic therapeutic agents. We synthesize evidence from preclinical models and initial clinical-stage studies, addressing translational challenges in scalable production and targeted delivery. Through sustained innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration, exosome-based miRNA delivery systems demonstrate transformative potential to overcome current therapeutic limitations, enabling novel NP management strategies.
Keywords: neuropathic pain, targeted delivery, miRNA therapeutics, Exosomes, Pain Management, clinical translation
Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 19 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Zhou, Guo, Wu, Zhou, Jibing and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chen Jibing, Ruikang Hospital affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
Fujun Li, Ruikang Hospital affiliated to Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.